(2020)>, Graduation Film by Director Yoon Daewoen, Seizes 2^nd Prize at Cinéfondation of the Festival de Cannes 2021

Director Yoon’s Cicada (2020), the only film from Korea to be invited to this year’s Festival de Cannes, grasped the 2^nd prize in the Cinéfondation of the 74th Cannes. Cinéfondation is an official selection of the Cannes Film Festival in which filmmakers from world film schools compete for awards with their graduation films. It is an opportunity to debut for many new directors. The festival exceptionally took place two years after the previous one in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Cicada (2020), a seventeen-minute-long short film, talks about a gender identity restricted by a physical body. The film delivers the message by following the main character, a transgender prostitute in Sowol-gil. “The film’s plot consisted of a strange tension that holds the audience’s gaze followed by explosive conflicts that leads to the unexpected ending is very powerful,” acclaimed the jury. 

Yoon Daewoen said, “For storytelling, I find my experiences of having drawn webtoon and studied animated movies for my major significantly helpful. As I have done for this work, I want to share the ideas I find intriguing in the form of stories.”

Dean Park Hyun-cheol of School of Film, TV & Multimedia commented, “Yoon’s achievement is a recognition of our past twenty years of efforts to nurture talented artists and encourage their new attempts and challenges. Standing shoulder to shoulder with film schools of the world, we will continue to nurture artists with global competence who will contribute to the growth of the Korean film industry.”

Since the foundation of Cinéfondation in 1998, the School of Film, TV & Multimedia has entered the selection nine times till now. It is the most invited number within the country and even one of the highest in the film schools in the world.